Zoe Saldana Talks Hubby Marco Perego with 'Fashion' Mag!

Here is what the 36-year-old Guardians of the Galaxy actress had to share with the mag:

On her husband, artistMarco Perego: “When you are desired and you desire, so many things in your life start to make sense … We both feel we are artists in our core. One moment you’re up; the next moment you’re down. It all depends. You can sell a collection; you might not sell the next collection. It’s like an actor – you get cast or you don’t.”

On skin-deep criticisms regarding her casting in the biopic, Nina: “I handled the role with the same love, the same respect and the same pride that any other black person would, because I am a black woman, a proud Latino black woman, and nobody’s going to take that right from me.”

On valuable life lessons she has learned: “The moment you compare yourself [to another woman], it weakens you, and I’m not here for that. Once you know that reality [and] claim your space, your life becomes easier.”

For more from Zoe, visit FashionMagazine.com! Check out behind the scenes images in the gallery below:

Zoe, you put black paint on your face to play Nina. Nina Simone was a dark-skinned woman, who was picked on for exactly that–her dark skin, non-European features.

You, Zoe, are not right for the role. You took–daring to star opposite a black man (which you almost never do)–because you think it will make you a credible actress, and get you an Oscar nomination.

ignorance is bliss

@True: why does she have to be ridiculed over her taste in men? get over yourself, especially cause shes most likely pregnant with marco’s baby and where’s the issue with that? theyre effing MARRIED ffs. yes, interracial couples exist, do you have a hard time realizing that there are white men out there that don’t have a preference with race. trust me ive dealt with white men that told me to my face that they only like blonde hair and blue/green eyes but whether you like to believe it or not, there are white men that are not exclusive with race; hard to find, but there are more and more white guys that aren’t afraid to show their interest to a black or hispanic or indian or asian women. but of course blame the black woman and not the white man in this case just cause she’s black, right? i’m in an interracial relationship as a white girl going out with a black guy, who are you going to blame? my boyfriend always gravitated towards white women because hes truly sexually attracted to them, i even ask him why he hasn’t gone out with a black girl out of curiosity but he’s not that attracted to them, it happens, doesn’t mean he thinks any less of black women in general or has an issue with his own race or the fact that he wants to have lighter skinned kids, he doesn’t even give a sh!t about having light skinned children which is probably what you’re thinking with zoe “only dating white men”. enlighten me with more of your ignorance.

as far as her being cast as nina simone, they shouldve casted someone darker with nina’s skin tone, fuller face (zoe has too much of a sharp bone structure to play nina), and wider nose (they used prosthetics for zoe’s nose to look more like nina). Uzo Aduba from Orange Is The New Black would have been the perfect casting but they cast someone more well known at the time they filmed it to get more attention. if they filmed the movie now instead of earlier, then they would’ve casted Uzo because of her popularity in OITNB, trust me they would’ve.

Joelle

It’s only since she took the role that she’s been referring to herself as black. Previously she’d said in interviews that she didn’t like being labeled. I think that was the criticism of her more than how she looks or her preference for Caucasian men, after all some black men have Caucasian women. It amounts to the fact that she got a part that she was willing to be black for. That’s called being a hypocrite.

Oleana

@Joelle: What are you talking about? I’ve seen her talk about her pride for being black and latina before and describing her childhood etc. Nobody’s criticizing her husband for being with a black woman so why should you criticize her for being with him? I don’t understand this shade of color discussion…why take it out on her if it’s such a problem, if anything it’s a casting issue.

Why couldn’t they choose another experienced and talented but perhaps less high profile actress with more similar physical characteristics as Nina, including body size, facial features and skin color as well as having the ability to play piano and sing in a similar way as her? Well…Nina was one of a kind so that would probably be very difficult. Maybe they should have tried harder, I don’t know, maybe they could have found someone equally suitable or more so than Zoe who looked a little bit more like Nina, I don’t know. But don’t blame Zoe for playing the part.

Amy

Doesn’t she have two latin parents? How is she black?

Miriam

nice to see how ignorant people are a constant. It’s embarrassing. Since when latina is a race? rotfl that’s like saying that Kerry Washington is not black because she’s american?!

@True and Joelle: she was in movies with black actors too and did play the love interests of those. Who she dates in real life is none of your business, interracial pairs are a thing because thank God some people in this world aren’t stuck about races. Get over it.
Also she had never denied being black, she actually even stated it to the DR press when they tried to tell her she is just dark skinned.
There is a thing called google: use it and find the actual quotes. I don’t know why some people say she denied being black even though she always did the opposite. Most be people who don’t see her as black because she happens to be embrace her latin culture which for some AA is outrageous or equating as distancing herself from the black community.

@Oleana: Did you carefully read what Joelle wrote? She was not criticizing Zoe for having a white husband and white boyfriends, only mentioning that other people did. Pay attention.

British Latin American

@Miriam: Again, pay attention to what was posted. Joelle made no comment on Zoe’s leading men on screen. True did not say that Zoe never had black men as leading men in her films, just that it was something that rarely happened, which is true.

I like Zoe, so what I’m going to say is not ‘bashing’ her. Even though she has occasionally said she identifies with being black, most of the time she has identfied herself as Latina or has said that she does not like being labelled racially/ethnically. It may only be a coincidence, but when you consider that most of her onscreen love interests have been white, and that she seems to have a preference for white men in real life, it is understandable that some in the Black American community may believe she is trying to distance herself from being black, even though they may be wrong.

ignorance is bliss

@British Latin American: if you really feel that she’s trying to distance herself from black people, then she wouldn’t be close to her family or proud of her roots, shes been through enough adversity as both latina and black before she started getting recognized moreso by hollywood and im sure she felt the heat of it when there’s not many roles for black women or hispanic women when there should be more diversity in leading women roles. hollywood doesn’t want to accept the fact that their lack of diversity in film roles will end up hurting them economically in the long run if they keep white washing every role meant for other races and keep using the same actors, hollywood will get really boring if they keep being narrowminded. there’s black people that talk ghetto and there’s black people that talk white. my boyfriend is black and he talks like a conservative man and not somebody from the streets and he always got picked on by other black guys cause they thought he “talked like a white guy” but does that mean that he’s distancing himself from his race. no, he was raised in a progressive environment. you seem to have the mentality of a ghetto black woman even if youre not black. black women shouldn’t question her values as a black woman for dating somebody of a different race, thats just stupid. im sorry but if i knew my race had an issue with dating somebody out of their own race, id distance myself far away from them cause they’re narrow minded if they believe societal values should govern a relationship in order to “please the public”. and nope i don’t need to take a breath, i like to explain myself and my experiences within this subject, please and thank you.

seriously?

@ignorance is bliss: A ghetto black women? Being from the ghetto does not define anyone as a person. Your upbringing does not illustrate whether or not you’re trying to progress. Having a ghetto accent does not depict the person either. A ghetto is a place that has a large concentration of one specific group; in this case a black community. Your trying to defend zoe which I commend, since this dark skin vs light skin fight amongst the black community is so overrated, but you’re making extremely racist remarks in the process which does not help your cause.

British Latin American

@ignorance is bliss: I didn’t say that I thought Zoe was trying to distance herself from Black people, just that other peoplev might think she is distancing herself from black people.

mon

AA are such hypocrites always labeling afro-latin people as not real black because they wrongly equate being latin to being spanish, white or mixed but then they expect afro latin people to claim they’re black all the time and get offended when they embrace their culture too rather than just their race like some AA do. I never see people nbeing so obsessed with AA actresses claiming their black all the time.